I just read this, (almost done, finishing it tonight probably) and I must say, besides good writing, the whole trial and everything behind it was very interesting. Manson was obviously the mastermind and he was a horrible person, but besides being evil, he was a brilliant mind. His mind was much like Hitler's although he was 'insane', he was also brilliant. He could talk anyone into doing anything, he almost got Linda Kasabian (the one that was innocent and hurt no one) to kill, and she was the 'sweetest girl' according to the defense attorney. Had he used his ability for good he could have done great things, he could have been a brilliant speaker, and heck, he could have been able to become president with his ability to talk. That said, it was a great book, next up, a book on the Psychology of serial killers, lots of fun, will be quite interesting actually.